


You push too far, someone's gonna push back.

by Werepirechick



Series: B-team is the Best Team [1]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: ;3c, Canon-Typical Violence, Confused older brothers, Fights, Frustration, Gen, Post-Canon Fix-It, Sibling Rivalry, Sparring, Unresolved Tension, and well, basically this is just don and mike showing their bros how Done they are, come to the dojo in ten minutes if you want an ass kicking, hella Done younger brothers, i got a lovely prompt asking for the a-team to be wasted, sort of, this is placed some time after season 4 ended, through acceptable violence, when have i ever passed up a prompt like that?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-10-17 20:35:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10601751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Werepirechick/pseuds/Werepirechick
Summary: Eventually, and it's something they should have seen coming, Leo and Raph's tendency to push their brothers around would come back to bite them. Viciously.Such as, during training, Leo goes a bit to far, and Donnie and Mikey decide it's time they reminded their brothers they aren't the only ninjas in the lair.





	

**Author's Note:**

> thank you anon on tumblr who sent me this request, it was good to write and great to post.
> 
> get fucking REKT a-team.

 

 

It takes nearly full hour to drag Donnie from his lab, and to corral Mikey into the dojo, but after fussing and shouting and eventually having to pull the “ _I am your Sensei now and you WILL TRAIN WITH ME-”_ card _,_ Leo manages to get all his siblings in order and ready for a family training session.

Donnie’s eye is twitching, and the way he holds his staff screams _don’t talk to me,_ but that’s normal enough. So are Mikey’s muttered grumbles, and the annoyed slouch he has despite Leo reminding him to stand up straight for the hundredth time.

At least Raph seems ready to go. After a few customary barbs from Leo’s brother, he’d gone to get his sais without being asked and rolled his shoulders in preparation, saying, “I needed a work out anyways, might as well get it done now.”

“We’ll start off with some two on two sparing, and then we’ll move onto individual katas,” Leo says, clapping his together and giving his brothers an encouraging smile. “Just to warm up. I’ll be with Raph, and you two can be together.”

“B-team versus A-team,” Raph says, cracking his knuckles and smirking. “I like it.”

Donnie rolls his eyes at the ceiling, grumbling loudly, and Mikey says under his breath, _“Wow, big surprise there.”_

Leo pushes away his flicker of irritation- because if they’d been able to respect their father, they should be able to respect him- and instead draws his swords. “Line up. We fight until I call the match, or one team admits defeat.”

Raph’s weapons were already out before Leo even drew his, while Mikey takes extra time to make a show of being uninterested in training before he takes out his nunchucks. Donnie’s staff was also already out, so he simply spins it a few times before sliding into a fighting stance.

Leo levels his swords at his brothers, seeing Raph get into a charging position, and he yells _“Hajime!”_ as they run at one another.

Mikey’s attacks impact against Leo’s swords, and he easily deflects each one from getting too close. Leo in turn slashes at Mikey’s openings, and his brother narrowly misses needing to patch himself up after this is done. Mikey shoots him a frustrated look, and renews his rapid fire attacks.

Leo sees and hears Donnie and Raph’s fight, Donnie’s bo staff dully thwacking against Raph’s guard. Leo rolls his eyes at Raph’s taunts, the regular _“Is that the best you got?”_ sort, usually ending with an insult or two towards Donnie’s performance.

Leo dodges a flurry of attacks from Mikey, tsking under his breath at how unfocused they are, and gets behind his brother. Leo kicks Mikey’s shell before he can turn, sending him in a stumble towards Donnie, who at the same moment has been shoved backwards by Raph. The B-team crashes into one another with loud exclamations, and Raph laughs as they try to regroup.

Leo tries to cover his own laughter, but he can’t supress it entirely and a few chuckles escape him. “Mikey, Donnie, come on, are you guys even trying right now?”

The two of them exchange a look, and something unsaid passes between them.

Raph seems to think their brothers have had enough time to recover, and so charges at them again before either of them can answer. Leo decides he might as well too, and joins in by spinning into a three point attack at Donnie. His brother’s staff blocks the blows, but Leo pushes him back with each one.

Donnie’s bo swings upwards suddenly, and just grazes Leo’s chin as he retreats backwards. Leo’s smile, which had found its way onto his face as Raph and he had shoved their brothers into one another, slips away as he has to actually focus again. Donnie’s range is larger than his, and Leo has to really pay attention to where the attacks are coming from.

Of course, he doesn’t have to anymore, once Raph throws Mikey over his shoulder at Donnie. Mikey had been trying to get in close and attack from there, but that’s never a good idea with a close-range combatant like Raph.

Leo’s two younger siblings go down in a heap, and he sighs. “You two need to step up your game, this is just sad,” Leo shakes his head admonishingly, hearing Raph’s scoffed agreement. “If you can’t keep up with even just a spar, I think I may have to drop you both back to beginner’s training.”

A joke, but seriously, Leo is definitely considering knocking them down a few levels if they can’t even keep up with _this._

“Oh _fuck no,”_ Mikey says suddenly, and Leo blinks at the actual anger in his voice. Mikey and Donnie rise from the ground at the same time, and wow, Mikey actually looks pissed off. That’s new. And Donnie doesn’t look much further off from true and serious anger, though most of it is smothered by a flat expression.

Mikey swipes at his nose, wiping off what seems like a slight nosebleed from hitting Donnie’s shell face first, and Donnie cracks his neck in two short jerks. The two of them exchange one quick glance over their shoulders, and then bring up their weapons again.

Donnie’s naginata blade make a _shhhink_ sound as it slides out, and Mikey’s chains rattle as they extend to drop against the floor.

Leo isn’t ready for when the next attack comes- because he’d been preparing for Donnie’s staff, not _Mikey’s chains_ to come flying out at him. He brings up his swords on automatic, but they’re not much good as metal wraps around them in a tangle. His brothers had spun around each other so fast- switching targets with a sharp pivot- that Leo hadn’t even been able to keep up with it happening.

Raph’s startled yelp is all Leo hears, because he has to focus on trying to free his swords. He gets part way, but Mikey yanks him to the side before he can properly loosen his weapons. Leo tries to plant his feet, but the dull end of Donnie’s staff knocks them out from under him.

Leo is pulled and knocked off his feet, and crashes face first into Raph’s shoulder. His brother yells at him _“GET OUT OF MY WAY, LEO-”_ but Leo’s smarting eye socket and cheek distract him. Leo barely gets out of the way as Donnie’s naginata blade slices through the air at Raph; Raph’s sais ringing as the metal hits metal. Donnie’s eyes are narrowed as he keeps up the barrage, switching back and forth between stabbing and slashing or hitting Raph square in the chest with the blunt end of his staff, over and over.

Leo refocuses on attempting to escape, and he doesn’t get much farther than before as a wide arc from Donnie’s staff nearly catches Leo as well as Raph. Leo stumbles out of range again, still trying to recover, but Mikey’s chains yank him forwards.

His brother’s foot lands on his face, as Mikey uses him as a springboard to flip into the air, and Leo’s swords are _finally_ free of the chains as his brother goes-

-but it’s just in time for Leo to nearly fall on them.

Leo’s sword tips clang against the cement underneath the mats, and he diverts his fall just in time to avoid slicing his plastron. He rolls as he hits the ground, and reaches out to grab the weapons he’d been forced to release-

-only for Raph to come crashing down on top of him, courtesy of Donnie finishing the continuous strikes he’s been attacking their brother with.

Leo’s air escapes him for a moment, and he wheezes as Raph’s weight rolls off him. Leo groans, face hurting, arms and legs smarting, and head whirling with confusion as to _what the hell just happened?_

“The fuck was that?” Raph says hoarsely, holding a hand to his plastron.

 _“That-”_ Donnie says with a sharp tone, sharper than his staff’s blade now pointed at the ground. “-was the two of us _actually trying.”_

“Yeah, assholes,” Mikey mutters, swiping at his still bleeding nose. Leo feels a trickle from his own, and wipes at the wetness Mikey’s foot had helped create. Mikey pulls back his lips in a scowl, and spits, _“Now_ who needs to go back to the beginner’s level?”

“I was just joking,” Leo says, rather weakly.

“Yeah. Well. Fuck you and your jokes,” Mikey says in a low tone, pulling his chains back into their nunchuck form. “Mine are better anyways.”

Then he sniffs, probably letting blood go down his nasal passages, and Donnie lightly cuffs Mikey’s shoulder. “Don’t swallow it.”

“It’s just a little blood-”

“-which is _not_ supposed to go into your system. And it’s gross.”

Mikey sticks out his tongue, and Donnie rolls his eyes, and _what._ _How are they acting like this is normal?_

“Okay- wait, if that was you guys actually trying,” Raph says, coughing once as he sits up fully. “Then why the hell didn’t you ‘actually try’ during training ever _before?”_

Leo shoves himself off the floor and onto his knees, wiping again at his bleeding nose. “I’m, uh, wondering that too. I wouldn’t have been riding you two so hard if I known you were… already this good?” It’s weird to say, because as far back as Leo can remember, Donnie and Mikey… were never this competent in training. Ever. “This is really out of the blue.”

“You know, contrary to popular belief, Leo, not everyone devotes every drop of energy into training,” Donnie says, and there’s a hint of nastiness as he does. Leo notices then, that Donnie’s eyes are bloodshot and still twitching and _maybe_ taunting him earlier had been a bad idea. “In case you never noticed, I don’t have the luxury of giving my all during spars, because oh, I still have _mountains of work_ waiting for me in the lab when we’re done. I can’t go and blow all my energy on a pointless faux fight, because then I’ll have none left over to work on anything else. And usually, you guys _want_ me to have that energy when I’m working with explosives or heavy machinery.” He glances at Mikey then, and shrugs. “I don’t know why Mikey doesn’t, though. He’s got _plenty_ of energy to.”

“Pssh, maybe, but why should I?” Mikey scoffs, crossing his arms. “It’s not a real fight, and if I know I’m good during one of those, why put all that _effort_ into shit? And, you know,” He says, sliding his eyes over Leo and Raph both. “ _You two_ get all pissy when someone beats you at stuff… and fuck if I wanna deal with _that._ It’s just easier to not, you know? _”_

“Agreed,” Donnie mutters, following the mutter with a deep sigh. His naginata blade is finally sheathed, and he spins up and over his shell to holster it. “Well. I don’t know about any of you,” Donnie says, straightening his posture and rubbing his eyes. “But I think we can just end things here for the night.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Mikey agrees breezily. Then he sniffs again, this time with a disgusting snort sound, and Donnie sighs.

 _“Please,_ Mikey, just take care of that properly,” Donnie says.

Mikey sniffs loudly, making Donnie’s eye twitch. “Bro, you gimme tissues, and I will.”

“Why can’t you get them yourself?” Donnie asks in a dry tone.

Mikey sniffs loudly again, and Leo sees Donnie’s eye twitch once more. “Well I could, but they’re just so _far away-”_

“Oh for- _fine,_ I have some in my lab, just stop clogging your nasal passageways.”

Mikey gives Donnie a cheeky grin, and then follows his put upon sibling towards the exit. Leo watches them go, still trying to come up with a response to their explanations, and can’t find one before they’ve waltzed out.

“What the fuck just happened,” Raph says, breaking the stunned silence.

Leo sits back heavily, and can only shake his head. “I. I don’t know.”

“We lost. We _lost._ What the _fuck.”_

Leo nods in agreement, and sits on the floor with his equally shocked brother for another good ten minutes, trying to absorb the fact that not only have Mikey and Donnie been holding back during training for- who _knows_ how many years, and that at any time, they could have given as good as they’d gotten and _more._

“What the fuck,” Leo says, repeating Raph’s words after a long silence.

Raph makes a wordless sound of frustrated confusion as he grabs at the sides of his head, and Leo is inclined to agree.

 

 

 

Outside the dojo, Donnie bumps fists his fellow ‘B-team’ member, and smirks. “We should do that more often. It feels good to surprise them like that.”

“I’d be down if you are,” Mikey replies with his own smirk. “And you know, I’ll probs catch a beatin’ whenever Raph recovers, but yo, _so worth it._ Did you see their faces?”

“I saw, and I have saved them to my memory forever.”

Mikey laughs, even as another few drops of blood dribble out of his nose, and Donnie laughs with him.

It feels pretty good, handing their brothers back their insipid rivalry and taunting attempts. They really should do it more often, if only to remind their brothers that they aren’t the only ninjas in their home. That, and Leo and Raph’s smug expressions had been _wonderful_ to wipe away.

Donnie feels rather prideful of himself for that, and from the way Mikey’s steps are light despite the persisting nosebleed, he can tell his brother feels similarly.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> i can't be the only one completely over the whole 'a-team is stronger than the b-team' bullshit, right? it's bullshit. such absolute bullshit. and so ANNOYING.
> 
> like wow. fuck you canon. how in any way is the b-team any less skilled than their brothers? like, bro, it's basically the fucking Opposite.
> 
> the b-team stands for Best Team, because compared to their bros who are A) still dependent on dad to teach them shit, and B) not nearly as ninja as their brothers, (in the sense of 'getting shit done', because raph and leo angst all over the place about actually doing shit, while donnie and mikey just clean their weapons after and are done with it), donnie and mikey have been basically running their own show since season 2, which is when splinter stopped giving any real attention to their training. they're just as good, if not Better, at what they do than their sibs, and yet, the fandom and writers continues to sideline them in favor of their oh so special and overly emotional older brothers and i just
> 
> scream.
> 
> and then rant aimlessly in the notes section of my fics and i'm sorry. i'm salty and it spills out sometimes.
> 
> anyways: RIP a-team, they shan't be missed, and may the b-team find peace from their asshole brothers and neglectful father's influence amen.


End file.
